Does a European patent always entitle its holder to a permanent injunction?
This question has sparked vigorous debate in past years but so far remains unresolved. This open access book presents a detailed, practical, and comprehensive test to determine when injunctive relief should be limited on proportionality grounds.
The book's 3 parts guide readers from proportionality's normative foundations to its practical applications. Part I argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, proportionality is not an open-ended balancing test but rather applies the principle of commensurate scope at the remedies stage. Part II offers an in-depth analysis of situations where a permanent injunction risks upsetting that principle. It draws on a unique qualitative study of all US District Court decisions between 2006 and 2020 granting or denying a permanent injunction in patent cases to stake out circumstances where an injunction might have disproportionate consequences. Part III grounds the inquiry in EU law and proposes a proportionality test along three elements: overreach, abuse, and conflicts with third-party rights.
